Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly rated for its security, ease of use, and minimal impact on performance.
Sentiment score
4.5
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway offers cost-effective, scalable connectivity, enhancing security and efficiency while simplifying network setup for businesses.
The solution provides significant cost savings, transitioning expenses from CapEx to OpEx.
Infrastructure Architect at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
Time savings have notably increased because establishing the connection with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway was straightforward.
Director- Head of DevOps, security, and Complaince at Rightdata
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco IOS SSL VPN users praise the effective customer support, highlighting timely service, comprehensive documentation, and strong local assistance.
Sentiment score
4.6
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway support varies; premium praised for quick help, free criticized for delays; documentation gaps impact satisfaction.
When Cisco first took over, it was a bit more difficult to get support, but they now integrate it without differentiating the support for Linksys versus full-blown Cisco switches.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
We contact support regularly, especially for deployments, and they are very responsive.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
We received the required support whenever we encountered challenges.
Director- Head of DevOps, security, and Complaince at Rightdata
In a recent incident, I had an issue with the SharePoint API. It relates to documentation, specifically the lack of up-to-date documentation because Microsoft is moving away from the traditional SharePoint REST API to Microsoft Graph.
Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.
Prioritization of tasks can also be challenging, impacting the timely resolution of problems.
Infrastructure Architect at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is scalable and efficient, supporting diverse user bases with flexible licensing and expandability.
Sentiment score
6.1
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is scalable and cost-effective, supporting various configurations and user requirements with high availability.
It integrates well with Cisco's ecosystem, providing flexibility and options to connect to diverse environments.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
The process was very efficient to scale the solution, which supports a high level of scalability.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
It is auto-scalable, and I do not see any issues regarding scalability.
Director- Head of DevOps, security, and Complaince at Rightdata
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is highly stable and reliable, with users experiencing minimal issues and continuous service even during power failures.
Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is stable with minimal downtimes, though configuration and CI/CD integration improvements are needed for optimal performance.
Linksys can be fairly stable for easy environments, but in more complex network environments, Cisco is definitely a lot more stable.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cisco IOS SSL VPN is extremely stable.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Azure VPN Gateway is very stable due to reliance on Microsoft's own network.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco IOS SSL VPN requires improvements in language support, pricing, GUI, compatibility, deployment processes, and enhanced remote access options.
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway needs better troubleshooting, support, threat protection, faster connectivity, easier deployment, affordability, and enhanced documentation.
There have been issues with operating systems where newer updates cause problems with backward compatibility.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
More detailed logging would help in troubleshooting any failures during connection establishment or monitoring Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway.
Director- Head of DevOps, security, and Complaince at Rightdata
The instructions on how to integrate P2N and P2S type networks into Azure VPN Gateway could be improved, though it is a constantly evolving process.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
 

Setup Cost

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is costly compared to FortiGate and Aruba, though discounts exist and pricing reflects its stability.
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is seen as affordable by some, but costs can be high for smaller businesses.
For more than one hundred users, it costs about $60 per seat.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
We are paying around $300 per month for a VPN gateway, which seems high.
Director- Head of DevOps, security, and Complaince at Rightdata
The price of Azure VPN Gateway should be rated five from a purely invoice aspect.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
The pricing is somewhat high but acceptable, considering it replaces the need for physical network equipment, leading to cost savings.
Infrastructure Architect at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco IOS SSL VPN provides secure, user-friendly remote access with strong encryption, seamless integration, and efficient management, ensuring high user satisfaction.
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway excels with high availability, easy configuration, robust security, fast performance, and seamless Microsoft integration.
The solution is also very scalable, offering up to one hundred licenses for free, and can integrate well with Cisco's ecosystem, such as Cisco ISE and NAC.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cisco IOS SSL VPN definitely helps with our efficiency as it is one of our primary VPN solutions.
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway has positively impacted our organization because it is core to our system and crucial for establishing private connections to our customer's data sources.
Director- Head of DevOps, security, and Complaince at Rightdata
The primary function of Azure VPN Gateway allows for designing subnets from existing networks, whether they are physical or virtual networks within Azure or other cloud instances.
Senior Solutions Architect at EQ2 Technology
It's cost-effective by eliminating the need for firewall and networking equipment purchases.
Infrastructure Architect at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (4th)
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 2.7%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is 4.6%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway4.6%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN2.7%
Other92.7%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cost efficiency and ease of setup define network management while potential improvements in complexity handling are noted
Optimizing and configuring for network segmentation is the biggest thing for helping with segmenting traffic management. Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links. In the past, Linksys has been pretty good at network protection, segmenting off that protection for unauthorized access or cyber threats. Cost savings and ease of use are the benefits I've seen from Linksys. It's a little bit less complex to set up and configure compared to Cisco switching. I utilized the VLAN support feature in the Linksys switches. A lot of the networks I have were broken up by VLAN, and I definitely configured them for different VLANs. The best feature of Linksys in my opinion is cost, as they tend to be more cost-effective compared to larger switches or Cisco switches.
Srinivas A - PeerSpot reviewer
Director- Head of DevOps, security, and Complaince at Rightdata
Secure data links from on-premise sources have enabled private access to client databases
The best feature of Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is its sophisticated security mechanism for transmitting data between on-premise to Azure or Azure to Azure. The process of building the VPN gateway is user-friendly, making it easy to configure. Additionally, it supports various options to establish connections between on-premise to Azure or other sources to targets. Using pfSense as a firewall and VPN at our on-premise allows us to establish connections between Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and our on-premise pfSense VPN easily. This streamlined connection process occurs within a few steps. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway has positively impacted our organization because it is core to our system and crucial for establishing private connections to our customer's data sources. Their databases lie in a private network with no communication with the outside world. Our customers trust Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, and by extension, trust us because of this efficient networking establishment process.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Enterprise Infrastructure VPN solutions are best for your needs.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Marketing Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
The logging mechanism could use improvement. More detailed logging would help in troubleshooting any failures during connection establishment or monitoring Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway. Otherwise, e...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway?
For those considering using Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway, read the documentation thoroughly. Create an Excel sheet outlining tasks for both the source and target sides, especially when establishing ...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SSL VPN
MS Azure VPN Gateway
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MST Systems
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS SSL VPN vs. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.